Freedom Tower: A New Giant in the Sky

Yesterday afternoon, One World Trade Center, also known as the Freedom Tower, became the tallest skyscraper in the Manhattan skyline. Currently standing at 1,250 feet and growing, the tower is set to grow to a height of 1,776 feet before its completion (1776…get it?).

Upon its completion, One World Trade Center will be the tallest building in the U.S….sort of. 408 feet of the building will be tacked on by a giant needle that will rest atop the building’s roof. If the needle is not accounted for in the skyscraper’s total height, the building cedes the title of tallest U.S. building to Chicago’s 1,451-foot tall Willis Tower, formerly known as Sears Tower.

(Fun fact: the tallest building in the world is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai standing at 2,717 feet tall).

Nonetheless, the modern tower, designed by David Childs and developed by the Port Authority of NY & NJ, still represents a new hallmark of American design and engineering, a symbolic achievement in a symbolic place at a symbolic time in our nation’s history.